The determination of water in various liquids and solids is almost universally included in a complete chemical analysis, the rationale for and importance of such determination being peculiar to the material being tested. In some instances water content can adversely affect the material while in others it can enhance the performance or value of the material. For example, in the automotive fluid area, the water content of the ethylene glycol cooling fluid can dramatically enhance the freezing point of the mixture while water in the ABS brake fluid can adversely affect the performance of the auto braking system.
Moreover, the water content of solid materials such as chemicals and food stuffs can positively or negatively affect the taste, performance and/or stability thereof. Accordingly, there is a need for an easy to use, safe, and reasonably accurate chemical method and test device for determining the water content of a large variety of materials. The present test meets such needs directly for determining the water content of water miscible solvents and indirectly for determining the water content of solids which can be extracted with water miscible solvents.
As noted above, the water content of fluids used in anti-locking brake systems (ABS) is of particular interest. Such fluids commonly use glycol derivatives, such as triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, as the liquid base. It has been found that over a period of time such fluids absorb moisture which in turn lowers the boiling point of the fluid. When this happens, especially during warm weather and when brakes are continuously used such as in a long downhill descent, the fluid could boil, resulting in a complete loss of the braking system. Consequently, it is becoming necessary to routinely test such fluids for water content and discard the material when it reaches a predetermined level of water contamination.